Last night was a tough loss, making it especially hard to come back and play a day game today.  Once again, I really wish Johnny Cueto or Aaron Harang were pitching this series.

That's not to say that Micah Owings is a bad pitcher, but his inconsistency can be dangerous against a team like the Cardinals, who have a way of making mistakes turn into runs quickly (right, Albert?).  Once again, the Reds really need a big start from their pitcher.  I guess that's what it's like living with an anemic offense.

The last time the Reds faced Brad Thompson, he threw 5 innings, allowing just 5 hits and 2 runs in a Cardinals 5-2 win.  It was Thompson's first start of the season, a role that he's held down since then, posting a 4.86 ERA over 6 starts.  As you can see, he doesn't strike out many, but he also doesn't walk many either.  That means we should see a lot of balls put in play today.  Hopefully they're falling in for the Reds.

Enjoy a safe and fun 4th today, everybody!  I don't want to hear any stories about your trip to the emergency room this evening.

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

Instead of checking the stats of his relievers against Albert Pujols, Dusty Baker holds his starting pitcher in a loving embrace. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

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Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

The obvious choice here would be Albert Pujols, but you know what, I'm going to say it's Homer Bailey.  Homer went 7 1/3 innings, and left the game with a goose egg on the board before the manager decided he didn't deserve to win.  His line showed 2 runs, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts, but it doesn't do his performance justice.  After putting two on base to start the game, he put down 13 Cards in a row before hitting Joe Thurston by a pitch, and retired the next 7 before giving up a double to Yadier Molina.  He had all three pitches working well, with his fastball getting up to 95 consistently and his new splitter working as advertised.  He deserved this one.

Key Plays

• After letting the first two runners on, Homer struck out Albert Pujols to start a string of 21 batters without giving up a hit. 
  
• In the bottom of the inning, the Reds struck quickly with Chris Dickerson leading off with a double and an error on a Willy Taveras bunt driving him in to take an early lead.
• With Homer rolling in the 6th inning, doubles by Brandon Phillips and Jerry Hairston, Jr, gave the Reds a 3-0 lead.  That should have been enough.
• After Homer had two runners on with one out in the 8th, Dusty brought Arthur Rhodes in to pitch, and he walked the bases loaded.
• The next move is completely inexplicable to me.  Despite being 9-for-18 against Pujols with 2 home runs given up, Dusty brought David Weathers in to face him.  As one could have predicted, Pujols hit a 2-2 pitch over the fence for a grand slam and a 4-3 lead for the Cardinals.
• In the bottom of the inning, a little small ball helped the Reds tie the game, with Ramon Hernandez hitting a sac fly to drive in the tying run. 
  
• In the 9th, Nick Masset got the first out before taking a liner off his pitching arm to get taken out of the game.  Daniel Ray Herrera then gave up the leading run after the slick-fielding Paul Janish makes an error that could have got them out of the inning.  Carlos Fisher was the next pitcher brought in to face Pujols, who doubled to make it 7-4.  Meanwhile, the Reds' best reliever, Coco Cordero, got to the final boss playing Guitar Hero on his Nintendo DS.
• In the bottom of the inning, Edwin Encarnacion, who wasn't starting the game because he wasn't ready to play in the majors yet, hit a double to start a rally.  With two outs, Willy Taveras hit for himself while the Reds' two best pinch hitters, Micah Owings and Jonny Gomes, played Go Fish on the bench.  Despite Dusty's best efforts to lose right there, Willy inexplicably drew his first walk since May 23rd and brought the tying run to the plate.
• Joey Votto walked, and Brandon Phillips struck out with a swing that blew out some poor kid's sparkler out in West Virginia.  Game over.

via www.fangraphs.com

Other Notes

• It's a really tough night when one of the team's best strengths throughout the season ends up beating them.  Nobody in the bullpen had a good night.
• I'm still wondering what Dusty's thought process was bringing in David Weathers to face Pujols in the 8th.  if anyone can explain this, I'd love to hear it.  9-for-18 with 2 HR is not a recipe for success, no matter how good Weathers has pitched this season
• There's still the argument that they should have intentionally walked Pujols to avoid pitching to him, but hindsight is 20/20.  I think it would have been a risky move, and there's no telling what Ludwick does after him.
• This is arguably one of the biggest "stomach punch" games for the Reds so far this season.  They were rolling until Dusty made some questionable moves, and it's hard to argue that using the roster efficiently doesn't give the Reds a better chance to win tonight.
• I would imagine fan confidence would be at a season-long low at this point.  Friday night, sold out crowd, against a division rival, and they blew it.  In the long run, it's only one game, but the effect of this one will be felt much harder than the increase in the "L" column alone.
• The Cardinals are one of the few teams in baseball with one player that can singlehandedly beat you on any given night.  A good manager doesn't let that guy drive in 5 runs in the final two innings of a game where they've only scored 4 runs.  Period.
• Okay, enough ranting.  Jerry Hairston, Jr. was 3-for-4, which is great to see.  With his game, and Paul Janish probably earning himself another month in the doghouse, we're going to be seeing a lot more of Cherry.
• Brandon Phillips had two hits, as did Willy Taveras.  Taveras got on base 3 out of the 5 times he was up, buying him another two months in CF batting leadoff.
• Who the hell wants to see fireworks after a loss like this?

Thom Brennaman was saying in yesterday's game that it's hard to overstate the importance of tonight's start for Homer Bailey.  I have to say that I agree with him.  The Cardinals are tied for first with the Brewers and the Reds are just 2 games back.  A series win won't necessarily put the Reds in first, but it is still an absolute must.  Winning tonight makes a series win that much easier.

Oh, and the game is sold out.

No pressure, Homer, but the Reds really need you to be on your game tonight.  Hopefully you've got that splitter working.

Pitcher Witch Dave Duncan has worked his magic once again with Joel Pineiro.  Somehow, Pineiro has managed to put together some good numbers despite striking out just 3.8 batters per 9 IP.  The main cause for his success is his league leading walk-rate (1.1 BB/9) and home run rate (0.3 HR/9).  So, it's probably not a good idea to sit around waiting for a walk or a 3-run home run.  Thankfully, that's not this team's forte.

The good thing going for the Reds as they head into this series is that the Cardinals' offense hasn't been doing much lately either.  Over their last 11 games, they've managed just 2.5 R/G.  What's truly amazing about that is that Albert Pujols has been batting .375/.545/.875 during those 11 games.  The lesson here is that if you are going to pitch to Pujols, you better not let anybody else get on base in front of him.

This is about the 5th HUGE series for the Reds so far this year, and I can't think of a single time that they have stepped up and performed in those situations.  This would be an opportunte time to finally step up.  It's a holiday weekend and they are going to have some big crowds.  Sounds like a great time to energize the fans and the city, doesn't it?

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

Mario really knows how to handle balls with his hands.

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Reds threatening to miss another opportunity in the 8th.

Doesn't it seem like they just played?  I'm not talking about anything like "hey, these games are really close together."  I literally mean that it feels like the other game just ended and not a single thing has happened since then.  It's probably just my boring ass life though.

Let's see, what do we have today?  Oh look, a match up of two pitchers with good ERAs and terrible records.  Doug Davis is having a pretty good season and he always seems to handle the Reds well (6-3, 3.46 ERA in his career).  The Reds knocked him out early the last time they faced back in April of 2008 after drawing 6 walks in 3.2 innings.  And that's the key with Davis. You have to be patient and make him throw strikes, because he will walk quite a few batters if given the chance.  He's walked 3 or more batters in 10 of his 16 starts this season.  I know many of the Reds hitters like to be aggressive at the plate, but in this instance, patience is definitely a virtue.

Aaron Harang's career numbers against the Diamondbacks are somewhat indicative of his last two seasons with the Reds, except that he's pitched better.  In 8 career starts against the Dbacks, Harang has a 1.66 ERA over 54.1 innings pitched, yet somehow is just 2-4 in those games.  How he hasn't started cutting people on the team is beyond me.

Willy Taveras is back in the lineup and leading off again today.  I'm not sure why he continues to lead off even though Chris Dickerson is also in the lineup, but whatever.  I need to stop trying to understand Dusty's brain.  It confounds me.

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

"Hey baby, I'm just gonna throw out this runner, then you and me can get to makin' a Jerry Hairston III." Seriously, what's up with the belt? (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

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Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

The pitching staff.  Johnny Cueto, Arthur Rhodes, David Weathers, and Francisco Cordero combined for nine scoreless innings, only two hits allowed, and eleven strikeouts.  There was the ugly matter of six walks, but hey, a two-hit shutout!

Key Plays

• Cueto walked three men in the second inning, but was not haunted by them.  Gerardo Parra was caught stealing, and Cueto struck out Chris Young and Jon Garland to escape the danger.
• In the third inning, Danny Richar led off with a single, then Chris Dickerson hit a double.  It would have been ambitious to have Richar try to score from first, but Mark Berry waved him around anyway, and he was out.
• The only offense of note came in the sixth inning.  Chris Dickerson singled to lead off, went to second on a ground out by Hairston, then was off and running on a single by Votto and beat the throw home.  You can't spell "Canada Day" without "R-B-I" (if you're Quebecois).
• The Diamondbacks threatened in the seventh inning when Arthur Rhodes came in.  Gerardo Parra bunted his way on to lead off the inning, and Chris Young walked.  Miguel Montero sac bunted them over, so there were runners on second and third with one out.  Then Rhodes went to work.  He struck out pinch-hitter Ryan Roberts, walked Tony Clark to load the bases, then got Felipe Lopez to fly out to right, ending the threat.

via FanGraphs

Other Notes

• Johnny Cueto has no losses against the Diamondbacks.
• This shutout was the Reds seventh of the year.  Only San Francisco and their rotation of Cy Young winners has more in the NL.
• The Reds have not won a game 1-0 since August 8, 2007, but there were three other games tonight that ended with that score.
• The Diamondbacks have lost 9 of 11.  Never forget.
• The Reds are .500 again (38-38).  They're .500 at home (18-18) and .500 on the road (20-20).  Still only three games out of first place though.  One senses that one NL Central team will get hot for a ten day stretch, and at the end of the year it will have been the difference maker.

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Final - 7.1.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Arizona Diamondbacks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Cincinnati Reds	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	X	1	9	0
WP: Johnny Cueto (8 - 4) SV: Francisco Cordero (19) LP: Jon Garland (4 - 8)

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A day after facing perhaps the toughest right-handed pitcher in baseball, Dusty Baker has stacked the Reds lineup with left-handed hitters.  Somebody get him a calendar and get him up to speed. In the lineup tonight in place of Willy Taveras is Chris Dickerson, who likes to hit the ball all over the place, and in for Paul Janish is Danny Richar, who will be playing 3B while Jerry Hairston moves to SS.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about the lineup, after all lefties are batting .308/.384/.491 against Jon Garland this season.  It just seems like this lineup might have been helpful last night too.

The Reds have been scoring some runs for Johnny Cueto lately, putting up 7 or more in 3 of his last 5 starts.  Unfortunately, Cueto has managed to give up 5 runs of his own in each of his last 3 starts and the Reds are just 1-2 in those games.  I know it's probably just one of those stretches that a pitcher goes through, but it sure would be super awesome if Cueto would switch back into badass mode starting tonight.  A nice 7-inning, 1-run start would be fun, I say.

It's been gray in Cincinnati all day today, but still no rain and the radar looks clear, so hopefully this game will go off without a hitch.  Time to get that mojo back from the weekend!

More photos » by Matt York - AP

Dan Haren looked like Joe Jackson tonight, the way he beat us with his bat. (AP Photo/Matt York)

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Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Player of the Game

Dan Haren.  Not only did he throw seven innings of one run ball, not only did he strike out nine batters, he also went 2-2 with a double and a home run.

Key Plays

• In the second inning with two outs and two on, Miguel Montero singled to right field.  Chris Young tried to score from second, but Jay nailed him at the plate.  All those who complain that Jay is just a younger Adam Dunn are invited to cram it.
• It spiraled out of control from there.  Dan Haren doubled to lead off the third inning, but was erased on a throw to the plate from Jerry Hairston.  There was one on, two outs, and the ground ball to Brandon Phillips should have ended things.  Instead, he threw it away and there were runners on second and third.  Singles by Gerardo Parra and Mark Reynolds put us down 3-0.  And since Dan Haren hasn't surrendered more than three runs in a game all year, that was it.
• Three innings later, Arroyo walked Tony Clark, then gave up back to back jacks to Miguel Montero and Dan Haren.  The 8th hitter and the pitcher.  And that's when you know it's not your night.
• The Reds did break the goose egg in the seventh with doubles from Laynce Nix and Ramon Hernandez.
• In the 8th, Danny Richar walked, Willy Taveras singled, and Votto got his hit.  The bases were loaded with one out.  If the Reds were going to mount any kind of threat, this was the time.  Brandon Phillips flew out (Richar tagged and scored) and Nix flied out.  That was that.

Fangraphs looks like the elevation map from Denver to Lawrence.

Other Notes

• It was Dan Haren's first career home run.
• The Diamondbacks had lost five in a row and eight of nine.  Remember when we said that playoff teams should beat up on bad teams?
• The Reds run in the seventh was only the eighth run that Haren has given up in six June starts.
• The NIH says that symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome include fingers that "feel useless or swollen," and "[d]ecreased grip strength may make it difficult to form a fist, grasp small objects, or perform other manual tasks."  Women are three times likelier than men to develop carpal tunnel.  Get a haircut, Bronson!

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Final - 6.30.2009	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Arizona Diamondbacks	0	0	3	0	0	3	0	0	0	6	12	0
Cincinnati Reds	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	6	2
WP: Dan Haren (7 - 5) LP: Bronson Arroyo (8 - 7)

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